Suppression of the immune system is a common symptom observed in individuals infected with viruses such as the Ebola virus, Lassa virus, and Marburg virus. Ebola virus, Lassa Virus, and Marburg virus belong to a taxonomically diverse set of single-stranded ribonucleic acid (ssRNA) viruses from four diverse viral families Arenaviridae, Bunyaviridae, Filoviridae, and Flaviviridae. These viruses cause an acute systemic febrile syndrome called viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF). Other examples of viruses that cause immune system suppression include the Hantaviruses which are single-stranded, enveloped, negative sense RNA viruses in the Bunyaviridae family; MERS-coronavirus (MERS-CoV) which is a betacornavirus derived from bat; Influenza A virus subtype H5N1, also known as A(H5N1) or simply H5N1, which is a subtype of the influenza A virus that can cause illness in humans and many other animal species; and Influenza A (H1N1) virus which is an othomyxovirus and a subtype of influenza A virus that was the most common cause of human influenza (flu) in 2009.
A need exits for additional methods of effectively treating subjects suffering from infection with these viruses. For example, a recent severe outbreak of VHF on the African continent has captured global attention. The World Health Organization (WHO) cites the first cases of the largest and most complex Ebola outbreak to date were noted in March 2014. The gravity of the situation surrounding the recent Ebola outbreak reflects an urgent need for effective, inexpensive, and robust compositions and methodologies for the treatment of subjects suffering from viruses such as Ebola, Hanta, MERS, and influenza.